A Cynic's View
by MsDubstep
Summary: How do Nell and Eric's co workers view them and their dynamic? This is a look into the mind of one man who has a pessimistic view on romance. Rated K plus for a couple of cuss words.


A Cynic's View

By Bridget N

Tech Operator Pete Culpepper groaned as he sat down in his beloved chair in Ops, and his back groaned with him. Being in his late 50s, his body wasn't as it used to be. It took a fair amount of bargaining with Hetty to be able to bring in a more comfortable chair other than the ones issued from NCIS to accommodate his aching back. But the 80 dollar bottle of Scotch was worth it. His coworker Danielle Haynes, or Dani as she liked to be called, didn't dare sit in it, for fear of receiving the famous scowl of doom. Working in Ops for close to 6 years now had its privileges.

He set to work on the latest case, running background checks on a suspect. Someone stabbed a Navy commander while he was on leave and shoved him off a pier in Santa Monica and after several leads they presented him with the suspect, the seaman's estranged son. Pete was thankful that while he was a 3 time divorcee, he always stayed in touch with his two sons and his daughter. He had to take enough crap from two of his ex wives already. Fighting with his kids was definitely not worth the trouble. Besides, he loved them and they were the only stable family he really had now. Even if they were as thick as thieves. If they teamed up and tried to get him to take a vacation one more time, he might have to borrow one of those fancy sticks Hetty liked to 'meditate' with.

The sliding door whooshed open and in walked Eric Beale. He sat down in his chair next to the intelligence analyst, Nell Jones.

"You're late." Pete heard Nell say, not stopping her work. "And I finished your facial rec."

Eric sighed. "I called and said I was going to be late...didn't I?" He asked.

"No, you didn't." Nell replied. "What happened, anyway? Let me guess, you lost your glasses at the beach again."

"How did you know I was-" Eric got cut off by Nell's swift reply.

"At the beach? Because you just tracked sand all over the floor."

Eric just grumbled under his breath and started his own work. Pete could practically hear Nell's cocky smirk. If Pete was honest with himself, he found the new girl pretty damned annoying when she first started in Ops. She always had to cut off Eric's sentences and even started doing it with Callen. Good thing Callen didn't talk much. And she started taking over briefings and duties that Eric and the others could handle quite well, thank you very much. Eventually though, everyone got used to it. The kid could hold her own and she managed to last longer than all the other intelligence analysts before her. Pete still wanted to give her a swift kick in the rear sometimes but he had a feeling Eric wouldn't like that too much. He'd started getting pretty protective of her lately.

Pete shook his head lightly as he continued his own work, but as usual, a man couldn't work in peace, because another voice interrupted him.

"You got a stapler, Pete?" Dani Haynes came up behind him.

Pete sighed and turned to face her. "Do you see a stapler?" He liked to keep his desk clutter free, unless the Wonder Twins behind him. Hetty tore Nell and Eric a new one when she found out about the Oreos while she was away.

"Well, I thought since you like to keep things neat..." Dani shrugged.

"Go ask the kid." Pete jutted a thumb to Nell.

And then Dani started giggling as she turned toward Nell and Eric, who had resumed bickering over meaningless nonsense. "What are you laughing at?" Pete asked, against his better judgment.

"Look at them." Dani said quietly, stepping a little closer to Pete. He just gave her a blank look.

"Okay...?" He blinked in confusion. What was her deal? They did this everyday, much to Pete's chagrin. As if they needed another large child running around before Nell showed up.

"They're like an old married couple, aren't they?" She grinned, turning back to Pete.

"Oh, and I guess I'm supposed to know that. Being old and all." Pete deadpanned, very unamused.

"Oh, come on, you know what I mean." Dani leaned against Pete's desk. "I mean, they communicate as if they've known each other longer than just a year. I think it's really cute. Do you think they'll get together?"

"Dear God, I think I just vomited in my mouth." Pete grumbled. "The last thing we need is those two making kissy faces at each other. It wouldn't be good." And it wouldn't. There was a good reason why coworkers shouldn't date, in his opinion. Everything's good for a while, then they start fighting and bringing drama around the workplace. Pretty soon everyone would have to suffer because of it. He knew this from experience. Ex wife number three worked with him in the Cyber Crimes unit in the San Francisco Police Department. They weren't on the same team but everyone knew when they were happy with each other and when they weren't. After the divorce, he moved to LA and both of them much better off now.

"Just because it didn't work out with you and your ex doesn't mean they won't." Dani tried to reassure him, but he really wasn't buying it. "They communicate, they share everything, and they trust each other."

"Why ruin a good thing with sex and flowers?" Pete said, shaking his head. "You're just waxing all poetic because you're engaged. Just wait a few years."

"Diego and I have a connection that I've never had with any other person, and I see it in them, too." Dani said, turning toward Nell and Eric again, who seemed to have stopped bickering and starting talking seriously about the case they were working. They seemed to be very in tune with each other. Pete had to admire that, if nothing else.

"Even if things don't work out," Dani continued. "You have to at least try right? Just because you say you've given up on love doesn't mean the rest of us have to."

Across the room, Nell and Eric seemed to have come to an epiphany. Nell's face broke out into a triumphant grin. She tended to do that a lot. Eric also smiled, and his eyes lingered on Nell. His gaze had an air of pride, not only for his revelation but it was also directed at Nell from what Pete could tell. Another thing he couldn't help but notice is that he had her back in everything, and vice versa. Most couples he saw tried to hold each other back for whatever reason, whether it was worry or hidden jealousy. For just this once, the cynicism and the pessimism faded as he considered Dani's words. Maybe Nell and Eric could make something meaningful out of what they had. They were very good together, he had to admit that. Not that he'd let Dani know what he thought. He'd had enough sap for today.

"Hrm." Pete turned back to his computer.

"Besides, something tells me you buying that bottle of Scotch for Hetty wasn't just so you could have your extra special chair." Dani teased with a knowing sparkle in her eye.

"Don't you have other people to bug for your freakin' stapler?" Pete grumbled, and Dani walked off towards Nell's desk, snickering quietly. He discreetly undid a button on his silk shirt to cool his face and neck down from the sudden rush of heat that came upon him.

Pete decided that Nell and Eric getting together wouldn't be too much of a bad thing. They were kind of cute together and they had all the qualities that would make a couple work. Just as long as they kept their petty quarrels out of Ops, things would be just fine.

Valentine's Day was over but love was still in the air. And for once, it didn't make him nauseous.

END

**Author's Notes: I know I should be working on my other stories but in light of Valentine's Day just ending and the plot bunny poking me on the shoulder, I had to write this.** **Pete isn't exactly an original character. He is based on a a middle aged man that I have seen as a very minor character in the background in Exit Strategy and Partners. I thought I'd give him a ****name and a personality and an outsider's view. Feed back is appreciated, good or bad. ^^**


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